FORMULA 1 2009

[MIKA27]

Hi all.

Just wished to create a thread/post regarding this seasons Formula 1 championship for everyone to contribute to should they feel the need to do so. Please feel free to post news, opinions etc.

I hope the Admin and moderators on this site do not mind my posting this, but myself being a huge fan of Formula 1, really wished to start this as I have noticed that the post made by 'patman24' was such a success, we have continued on from discussing Melbournes race to Malaysia etc.

I'm really looking forward to the next race where I'll have a CC in one hand and a scotch in the other. The next race will be in Shanghai.

Source: Planet F1

Length : 5.451

Profile :

Time difference: GMT +8

No of Laps: 56

Race Distance: 305.066 km

Lap Record: 1:32.238 - M Schumacher (2004)

[patman24]

China will be interesting. The teams will have revised and improved cars for China. I have also been ecstatic for Brawn GP, Rubens and Jenson! I hope that they can stay in front.

[OZCUBAN]

Great Post Mika

well this years certainly shaping up to be the best season in a long long time...

This weeks race was a bit of a lottery rain timing of pit stops etc etc China should be a cracker cannot wait

cheers mate I am sure this thread will get a few hits good to see channel ten still have not got their act together

cheers Oz

[Fuzz]

good to see channel ten still have not got their act together

Get a HD set top box and watch it on channel One (used to be the old 10 HD channel). They had live coverage.

[MIKA27]

Get a HD set top box and watch it on channel One (used to be the old 10 HD channel). They had live coverage.

It may be live coverage but it's still full of comercials and quite often, we miss out on some action.

I'll keep posting updates etc when I come accross new information along with new races. Glad to see I'm not the only F1 nut.

[OZCUBAN]

It may be live coverage but it's still full of comercials and quite often, we miss out on some action.

I'll keep posting updates etc when I come accross new information along with new races. Glad to see I'm not the only F1 nut.

Its a shame we dont get live BBC feed

Dito

[smk819]

I am still in shock over the performance, or lack there of from Ferrari and McLaren. It is a remarkable turn about of the former Honda team. Ross Brawn is certainly a master of making cars go fast and handle well. It will be interesting to see if the Red Cars make a resurgance. I have been a Ferrari fan since the days of Phil Hill and Wolfgang Von Tripps with 1.5 liter engines and no pit stops. The sport has change greatly over the years, but is still the greatest test of man and machine.

[stargazer14]

I smoked a Mag 46 during the race and enjoyed it.

I do have to say I think Bernie is making some not so keen choices,

having the race in the late day in a place where it rains,

hard, in the late day, and the night races dont impress me either.

I know its for TV viewing somewhere else in the world, but I have no problem watching at 2am or

watching the replay whenever because I'm a fan, so I think he should be thinking about the drivers before

some clown who wants to watch the race before his dinner.

[brian1]

me too. It is beyong amazing what Brawn has done to the old Honda team...I mean they went from near bankrupcy a few short months ago to winning the first 2 races with barely a sponsor. Brawn is a genius and its great to see two journeymen like Buton and Barricello on the podium again. It will make for a very entertaining season if Team Brawn continue to kick butt.

What a fiasco Malaysia was! Bernie just doesnt give a F--k about the drivers and certainly not the fans. Himself and Herr Mosely! are all that is wrong about modern F1.

I am still in shock over the performance, or lack there of from Ferrari and McLaren. It is a remarkable turn about of the former Honda team. Ross Brawn is certainly a master of making cars go fast and handle well. It will be interesting to see if the Red Cars make a resurgance. I have been a Ferrari fan since the days of Phil Hill and Wolfgang Von Tripps with 1.5 liter engines and no pit stops. The sport has change greatly over the years, but is still the greatest test of man and machine.

[OZCUBAN]

Well said Brian could not have said it any better Jensen & Rubens deserve all the Kudos they get.

As is always the case in formula 1 it's the job of everyone else to catch up.

Depending on the out come of the appeal in europe if upheld all the teams will soon be running "Illegal" Diffusers.

I think in my humble opinion Money and Politics have got in the way of the true spirit of F-1.

Lets hope this is the changing of the guard in F-1 and to a season where no one team dominates

Cheers Oz Cuban

[MIKA27]

I think in my humble opinion Money and Politics have got in the way of the true spirit of F-1.

Lets hope this is the changing of the guard in F-1 and to a season where no one team dominates

Cheers Oz Cuban

Well OZ, I believe this season will be alot different in that we can already see teams such a Braun F1 kicking butt (What an amazing car!) and to see good old Williams up there again, Toyota etc, it's a great thing.

I kinda go for a few teams as I tend to follow the drivers around when they switch around. In saying that, I still also like sticking with a good team like McLaren whereas with drivers, Rubens and Button are well deserved drivers, especially Rubens from the old Ferrari glory days, an awesome driver, especially in the wet.

I'm not liking the rumor that Bernie and the FIA are considering changing the rules where the world champion is awarded the title based on the number of GP wins compared to the traditional and overall points system which I believe should stay this way.

It makes it more interesting when drivers battle it out and one could be the winner in the end by only a meare point such was the title between Kimi and Hamilton in 2007 along with Massa and Hamilton in 2008.

[Tampa1257]

Having been involved with both IRL and Champ, last year when they unified brought about the best in open wheel racing. The Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg has been a mainstay for me. This year is the first year in 8 years that I have not worked the race, yet moving 800 miles away had a small part to that issue.

The 1.8 mile track with 14 turns provides a challenging course that is exciting for the crowd and demanding on the driver and cars. The 2009 IRL season opened last weekend to an exciting race.

[MIKA27]

Ferrari ready to 'react' to poor start:

Ferrari's top brass have held a two-and-a-half-hour crisis meeting at the team's HQ on Tuesday following their poor start to the season.

The team have failed to pick up points in the opening two races of the 2009 campaign - their worst start to a season in 17 years.

Ferrari President Luca di Montezemolo admitted after the meeting they need to sort out their problems urgently.

"It would be a euphemism to say people here were very angry, but these same people are also very determined to react," Di Montezemolo said in Maranello.

"I brought with me a monk's hood to make everyone understand that we have to tackle this season with humility and made the point that I don't want to find us on some sort of TV comedy video programme after each race."

"Joking apart, I know that this group is known for its strong sense of pride and that will help us get out of this situation."

Although Ferrari's technical team have come under heavy criticism in recent days following several mistakes in the opening two races, Di Montezemolo has made it clear that they won't wash their dirty laundry in public.

"Our discussions are held in the locker room, as was the case in the days of Todt and [Ross] Brawn, when we were going through particularly tough times," he added. "The team remains united and I have every confidence in it."

[MIKA27]

Weber: Schu criticism is totally idiotic

Michael Schumacher's manager Willi Weber has slammed the German's critics after reports claimed he was the one who botched Kimi Raikkonen's Malaysian GP.

Both the German and Italian press have reported that Schumacher, who was sitting on the Ferrari pitwall throughout the weekend in his role as special advisor to the team, was the person who made the decision to send Raikkonen out on full wets on to a bone-dry track.

And in hindsight it proved to be the wrong choice as the rain stayed away for a few more laps with Raikkonen dropping roughly 20s per lap to the leaders.

Schumacher has subsequently come in for a great deal of criticism, Weber, though, insists that the decision was not Schumacher's alone but came from "the team".

"The criticism aimed at Schumacher is totally idiotic," he told the Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper. "His contract with Ferrari ends at the end of the year, but I don't know whether it will be renewed."

"The attack against Schumacher makes no sense. He knows everyone and was in Sepang just by chance. The decisions from the pitwall were taken by the team."

"It's possible that his contract won't be renewed, but there will be a meeting midway through the year, so we'll have to wait."

"Should his contract really not be renewed, then it would certainly not be because of the Malaysian GP."

"Michael may give some advice to the team, but he is not the team leader nor the team manager at Ferrari."

Meanwhile, Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali failed to clear up the question about just who was responsible for the error.

Asked after Sunday's race if it was Schumacher's decision, Domenicali said: "I was expecting that question, but I do not want to give an answer because I did not also answer who decided what here. So I don't want to. This is something we will discuss internally, it is not something that we will discuss outside."

[MIKA27]

'BMW already working on controversial diffuser'

While F1 awaits next week's Court of Appeal hearing into the diffuser three's designs, BMW team boss Mario Theissen admits his team is already working on copying it in case it is deemed legal.

On Tuesday, the diffuser three - Brawn GP, Toyota and Williams - will face their protesters - BMW, Ferrari, Renault and Red Bull - in a Court of Appeal hearing that could decide the results of both the Australian and Malaysian races.

The trio with the much-talked about diffusers raced under appeal with Brawn GP's Jenson Button clinching victory in both events. The Brit, though, could yet be stripped of his wins should the diffusers be deemed illegal.

But if that doesn't happen it's a race against time for the diffuser three's rivals as they look to adopt the controversial design and as such BMW are already working on it.

"Two of the three teams with a two-stage diffuser are clearly quicker," Theissen told Reuters. "Brawn as number one and then Toyota."

He added: "Everybody (is working on their own version). We cannot sit back and wait until the Court of Appeal is held and we have a decision. We have to work on it and we are spending money on it."

"The sooner it is sorted out the better. But you cannot expect to make up for such a big gap within a few weeks. And it is clear that the teams that have it already are developing their cars as well."

My Opinion: Explain Red Bull then. They are not one of the Diffuser 3 and in qualifying they are clearly beating Ferrari and beating McLaren badly. They are almost right up there with Toyota and Williams already. If Red Bull can be that competitive with a standard diffuser, Ferrari and McLaren have no excuse."

[MIKA27]

I think there must be a few red faces at Honda in Japan right now, given the dramatic improvement made as soon as Honda walked out and Brawn had free reigns to improve the chassis at his will (given McLarens poor results you can't say the difference is only the Mercedes engine).

I imagine before, if the Honda F1 team wanted to add a new wing design, or make any other radical change, the change proposal would have to pass through x amount of committees in Tokyo and take two weeks to approve or reject. Now Ross and his team can probably make a decision to try, and subsequently implement, a change in ten minutes. This centralised decision making seems to have been the main reason Honda and Toyota have lacked success for many years. Toyota seem to have woken up a bit this year, which is nice.

Anyway so far I like the fact that there is a lot more overtaking this year and that the teams seem more even and competitive. Always nice to see underdogs perform well.

I don’t like that race results are decided by appeal bodies. Can’t they just get on and race rather than appeal every decision and change results after the race. It’s silly child-play and will not be of benefit to F1 in the long run if it continues.

Magnus

Spot on mate!

I wonder what chassis Braun are using, maybe an old Ferrari?

The Braun teams vehicle is an awesome beast of a machine!

[patman24]

The Braun may have Ferrari influence, however, I think it was built from scratch. Ross wanted Ferrari motor but, the Mercedez was a better fit.

[MIKA27]

The Braun may have Ferrari influence, however, I think it was built from scratch. Ross wanted Ferrari motor but, the Mercedez was a better fit.

I've looked into this and not much out there about the make, I think you could be right patman.

The front nose cone deffinately looks like Ferrari, '06,'07 maybe '08?

Either way, great car for two great drivers.

[MIKA27]

'Rubens could be the biggest loser in liargate'

Rubens Barrichello could be the biggest loser should McLaren be banned by the WMSC, as there's speculation in the British media that Lewis Hamilton could then take his race-seat.

McLaren face possible expulsion, or suspension, from Formula One after the World Motor Sport Council charged them with bringing the sport into disrepute for the second time in just 19 months.

And should that happen the team could lose star driver and defending World Champion Hamilton as the 24-year-old and his father/manager Anthony are believed to have lost faith in McLaren's senior management after the Brit was instructed to mislead the race stewards in Australia.

This, though, poses the question of where Hamilton could go if he walks away from Woking with Brawn GP being touted as his best option.

"Lewis' future hangs on what happens to McLaren at the World Motor Sport Council hearing. If McLaren are kicked out of the Constructors' Championship at least Lewis can still race as he did in 2007 when the team were booted out over the Ferrari spying scandal," a senior F1 source told The News Of The World.

"But if McLaren are banned from several races, which could very well happen, then that would give Lewis's father and manager, Anthony, the excuse to pull him out of there.

"The only question mark is where he could go at short notice. Brawn GP is the one team that has been mentioned and the fact that they also use Mercedes engines is key.

"There is no question of Button being released as he is leading the Championship, but his team-mate Rubens Barrichello could be paid off quite easily."

Sir Jackie Stewart, though, has warned Brawn GP against signing Hamilton, stating that the team's lack of running in pre-season testing means they are in need of someone with Barrichello's knowledge to help them during race weekends.

"Is Ross Brawn seriously going to take Lewis on instead of Barrichello?" Stewart

"Rubens is very experienced in the setting up of the car, Lewis is not. And Ross needs that knowledge right now because of the ban on in-season testing."

The World Motor Sport Council hearing will take place on April 29th in Paris.

MIKA: If this is the case, I really feel for Rubens. He is finally in a ride which is a possible championship winning vehicle, RB is at the end of his career and now this load of BS.

Isn't Hamilton contracted to McLaren and NOT Mercedes!?

[JMN]

Its good to see Button finally doing well. I remember when he was on Top Gear and they pretty much made fun of him. I thought last year that his future looked a little bleak.

I saw a post on another car forum that was titled, "Still think Hamilton is a Prodigy?" Does make you think.

[patman24]

Two things that I must say.

1. I find it annoying seeing Lewis' father hanging out in the garage. I don't know why it does?

2. It would be wrong for Ross to low ball Rubens with all their history with Ferrari and Honda.

[stargazer14]

Two things that I must say.

1. I find it annoying seeing Lewis' father hanging out in the garage. I don't know why it does?

Lewis' father is also his manager and, not to mention, the very young kids' father.

I enjoy seeing a dad who has been as supportive as that for so many years.

There are more than a few managers, and fathers, who shadow their sons at F1 events.

now if it was his mother-in-law... that would be annoy me too!

[froglicker77]

I think there must be a few red faces at Honda in Japan right now, given the dramatic improvement made as soon as Honda walked out and Brawn had free reigns to improve the chassis at his will (given McLarens poor results you can't say the difference is only the Mercedes engine).

I imagine before, if the Honda F1 team wanted to add a new wing design, or make any other radical change, the change proposal would have to pass through x amount of committees in Tokyo and take two weeks to approve or reject. Now Ross and his team can probably make a decision to try, and subsequently implement, a change in ten minutes. This centralised decision making seems to have been the main reason Honda and Toyota have lacked success for many years. Toyota seem to have woken up a bit this year, which is nice.

Anyway so far I like the fact that there is a lot more overtaking this year and that the teams seem more even and competitive. Always nice to see underdogs perform well.

I don’t like that race results are decided by appeal bodies. Can’t they just get on and race rather than appeal every decision and change results after the race. It’s silly child-play and will not be of benefit to F1 in the long run if it continues.

Magnus

Brawn is using the chasis that Honda would be running with this year. Honda and Brawn started developing this chasis around race 6 or 7 last season.

[MIKA27]

Brawn is using the chasis that Honda would be running with this year. Honda and Brawn started developing this chasis around race 6 or 7 last season.

AH HAAAAA!!!!!

Thanks for the info mate, I was wondering what chasis they were using.

[MIKA27]

Opening salvos fired at Paris hearing

Ross Brawn was described as "a person of supreme arrogance" as the opening salvos were fired in the diffuser row hearing.

Ferrari, Renault, Red Bull Racing and BMW Sauber squared up against Brawn GP, Toyota and Williams in front of five judges representing the International Court of Appeal.

At the heart of the matter is the conceptual design of the diffuser - an aerodynamic body part that aids performance - towards the rear of the cars belonging to the three teams in the firing line.

At the FIA headquarters, overlooking the Place de la Concorde in Paris, Brawn and motor sport's world govening body were notably singled out for criticism.

Leading the debate was Ferrari's legal representative Nigel Tozzi QC, who successfully argued the team's case over 'spygate' and at last year's inquest into Lewis Hamilton's chicane-cutting move at the Belgian Grand Prix.

Tozzi drew reference to a seemingly emotional statement made by Brawn as part of his team's submissions amongst the mountain of paperwork to hand for the five judges to wade through.

In it, Brawn claims the appeal is "vindictive", and "for people too slow off the mark".

However, Tozzi concluded his 90-minute opening remarks by claiming that "only a person of supreme arrogance would think he is right when so many of his esteemed colleagues would disagree".

Brawn GP, Toyota and Williams have designed what has become known as a "double-decker diffuser", central to which are two apertures that increase airflow, so aiding downforce that in turn increases speed.

Ferrari, Renault, Red Bull Racing and BMW Sauber insist there is nothing in the technical regulations that allow for such "holes".

As Tozzi noted: "Anyone with a command of English will tell you it is a hole, so do not let someone attempting to be clever with words defeat the express purpose of the rules."

He added: "The appeal is not because we have not made the most of an opportunity, but because Brawn, Toyota and Williams have not acted within the regulations."

The FIA, and in particular technical director Charlie Whiting, also came under fire, with Tozzi accusing them of "getting it wrong, and not understanding the point".

That appeared to be made clear when Renault's legal representative, Andrew Ford, noted the FIA and Whiting had early last season ruled illegal a design by the French manufacturer similar to that currently being used by Toyota.

As Ford remarked: "It is not that Renault missed the boat, as Brawn have pointed out, it is because the FIA said it was illegal."

Ford added: "It was at that point the diffuser was abandoned."

Ford has confirmed Renault has a prototype diffuser ready to go, potentially for this weekend's race in China, should the appeal be dismissed.

Tozzi continued: "The position of the FIA is totally baffling...we urge you to save the FIA from itself."

It was pointed out that crucial to the seven teams without the new diffuser is the cost of redevelopment as the part concerned has a bearing on several other elements of a car.

Tozzi added: "It was Max Mosley who said recently that costs must be reduced by limiting the opportunities for technical innovation.

"If the appeal is dismissed then the claims by the FIA they want to make the sport more attractive and reduce costs will sound hollow."

A further assertion is that the 'double-decker' diffuser limits the opportunities for following cars to pass, in contrast to the aims of F1's Overtaking Working Group, in particular with regard to this year's new regulations.

Given the magnitude of the case, other than the five judges, there are 38 people present, either legal counsel, team personnel or from the FIA.

MIKA: I understand the whole diffuser debate but is it just me or perhaps Ferrari are taking every opportunity to bag Braun after leaving them to get his own outfit together?

Perhaps if Ferrari designed the double decker diffuser, this debate might not even be heard in court?